CriterionCast

Criterion Close-Up – Episode 58 – Punch-Drunk Love and the Films of Paul Thomas Anderson

Mark and Aaron get back to this century with a look at Paul Thomas Anderson’s Punch-Drunk Love. Naturally we talk about Adam Sandler’s dramatic acting jobs, and well, what happened to them? We go further into PTA’s career, film by film, chronicling the evolution of his craft and style. We explore why he is so popular, and question whether he belongs in the conversation of greatest living filmmakers.


3:40 – Punch Drunk Love

47:40 – Paul Thomas Anderson

Episode Credits


Next time on the podcast: Late Spring

Aaron West

I am a somewhat educated Criterion dork, with a History and Film Studies bachelor's degree and plenty of self-education over the years. My tastes are all over the map. Probably my favorite is 1930s French Poetic Realism, but I like everything from noir, to animation, to horror, westerns, and modern film. Usually I prefer film that challenges and requires something of the viewer.